Ensilage using Leuconostoc lactis and Weissella confusa reduces microbial risk and enhances hygienic quality of whole-crop corn

• DOI: 10.1186/s40538-024-00566-0
• Publication Date: 2024-03-27T11:08:15Z
• Authors: Jie Zhao; Xinbao Li; Haopeng Liu; Zhaodi Jing; Xuejing Yin; Junfeng Li; Zhihao Dong; Tao Shao
• Keywords: 0404 agricultural biotechnology; S; Fermentation quality; Microbial community; Whole-crop corn; Pathogenic risk elimination; Agriculture; Fast start-up inoculants; 0405 other agricultural sciences

AbstractThis study combined applied PICRUSt2 and BugBase tools to evaluate the effects of these two strains on the fermentation characteristics, microbial community, potential microbial risk and hygienic quality of whole-crop corn (WCC) silage. Fresh WCC harvested at the dough stage was ensiled with distilled water (CON),Leuconostoc lactis(LS) andWeissella confusa(WA) for 2, 4, 8, 15 and 30 days. After ensiling, all WCC silages presented desirable fermentation with high lactic acid andLactobacillusproportions, low pH and ammonia nitrogen levels and absent butyric acid. Ensiling decreased the complexity of bacterial co-occurrence networks, and theLc. lactisandW. confusainoculation further decreased the complexity. The inoculation ofW. confusasuppressed the most pathogenic pathways and related modules associated with zoonosis. In bacterial phenotype predicted analysis, although CON had lower proportions of ‘Potentially pathogenic’ than fresh material, this undesirable phenotype declined to negligible levels via LS and WA inoculation. Even for well-fermented WCC silages, the risk of pathogens remained after 30 days of ensiling. Therefore, WA could be developed as a promising fast start-up inoculant for reducing pathogenic contamination and improving hygienic quality of silage.Graphical Abstract